There are options for people struggling to make it to the pension age, but many rely on superannuation or owning a home.<\/p>\n
“Every phone call or email of this type is another kick in the guts, and my confidence drops that little bit more,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Forrest is a trained library technician and has been applying for a range of jobs in her hometown of Burnie on Tasmania’s north-west coast.<\/p>\n
She thinks her age is the biggest factor holding her back from securing employment.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never had problems in the past; what’s different? I’m 65, that’s what’s different,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Forrest works casually as a security guard, but shifts can be sporadic.<\/p>\n
She recently started training to work casually in a government department, but she needs something permanent.<\/p>\n
“It’s a start and has boosted my confidence,” she said.<\/p>\n
Do you know more? Contact Fiona Blackwood at blackwood.fiona@abc.net.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n The past few years without work have been tough financially.<\/p>\n She put her superannuation savings into the mortgage on her unit, and is now redrawing on that to survive.<\/p>\n Ms Forrest sometimes receives JobSeeker payments if she has not worked enough hours.<\/p>\n Ms Forrest hopes she will be able to get more work to get on top of her mortgage. (ABC News: Mackenzie Heard)<\/p>\n But mutual obligations requiring her to apply for a certain number of jobs a month have been difficult in the past, particularly because she lives in a small town.<\/p>\n “[In June] I only applied for two positions \u2014 the only suitable positions advertised,” she said.<\/p>\n “As a result, I was scolded like a child, with payments threatened.”<\/p>\n Ms Forrest hopes she will be able to get more work to get on top of her mortgage.<\/p>\n She thinks it is time employers consider older workers more favourably.<\/p>\n “We bring a lot of life experience to a position. We’re old-school, we’re reliable,” she said.<\/p>\n More older Australians need to work for longer<\/p>\n Unemployment figures show that over the past three years, there has been a rise in the number of older Australians (55-64 years) who are out of work: from 2.7 per cent in June 2022 to July 2023, to 3.1 per cent in July 2024 to June 2025.<\/p>\n “We are on an upward cycle,” said Ben Farr-Wharton, professor of workforce strategy at Edith Cowan University.<\/p>\n Ben Farr-Wharton says there is “this sense that if you’re an older worker you’re more disposable”. (ABC News: Julian Robins)<\/p>\n While the unemployment rate has risen across all ages (15-64 years) from 3.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent over the same period, older Australians find it harder to secure employment if they lose their job.<\/p>\n A report by Jobs and Skills Australia shows the average duration of unemployment for mature-age people stood at 86 weeks in June 2024 \u2014 more than double the 37 weeks recorded for 15- to 54-year-olds.<\/p>\n Which is why those over 55, who have spent nine months on JobSeeker, receive an extra $55 a fortnight.<\/p>\n Many Australians need to work for longer due to low superannuation balances, cost-of-living pressures, and a lift in the pension age from 65 to 67.<\/p>\n “There’s a whole cohort of workers who now might have left work in their early 60s or late 50s that absolutely need to stay committed to a workplace and in paid employment,” Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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